After self-injecting, and getting used to washing veggies, comes the wait for recovery.
So I’m one week in to my new life on Etanercept, and things are going well.
I’ve self-injected twice now (so brave!) and while it’s not kicked in yet, my flare up hasn’t got any worse either, so that’s good!
I’m yet to have any dramatic side effects with Etanercept, though I do have bruising, a runny and blocked nose, and a sore throat which are among the endless list of joyful surprises I have been warned about.
The latter two, however, I hope are caused by a cold I have been struck down with. The former – also known as the giant bruise on the side of my bum (yes, my bum has sides) – was caused by accidentally sitting on a man’s lap on the tube on Friday, and then once more on the armrest between the seats when I rushed to get up.
There are of course precautions to take on a medicine such as Etanercept. Most of them relate to me being more prone to infections now, having to wear extra-high-factor sun cream, reporting any disease developments to my rheumatology team, and washing fruit and vegetables.
Nothing much else to report at this stage. Once I have recovered from what feel like my last days on earth with this cold, I’m sure I will be back to my more eloquent self. I might even start writing poems about my new life of washing vegetables obsessively.
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(Any opinions expressed in Collette’s blog are not necessarily shared by Arthur’s Place. Nothing that you read in Collette’s blog constitutes medical advice.)
